N.J. Governor Does Not Care About Gift Cards Leaving the State

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he does not care if companies stop selling gift cards in New Jersey. In a recent press conference, Gov. Christie said he “did not buy” the premise that shoppers spend more money when they had gift card than when they do not and did not think that the state’s gift card law would harm state sales tax collections.

“I’m not worried about it and not losing any sleep over it,” he said. “If they want to move out, move out. It’s their call.”

An amendment to New Jersey’s unclaimed property statute, signed by Christie in June 2010, requires merchants to ask for address information, in most cases a ZIP code, each time a consumer buys a gift card. If the entire balance on the card has not been redeemed within two years of its purchase, New Jersey residents can collect the remainder through the state’s Unclaimed Property Administration.

The New Jersey legislature is considering a bill that would repeal the gift card law and the industry has been lobbying the administration to make changes, but it appears, based on this speech, that changes are not likely to come.

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